that's what I do. Usually while on a break at a gig when Im feeling like it's time to freshen up. Really I should probably set a subscription for my favorite set every few weeks and be done with it.
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
The unavailability of strings
- Thread starter dougjwray
- Start date
that's what I do. Usually while on a break at a gig when Im feeling like it's time to freshen up. Really I should probably set a subscription for my favorite set every few weeks and be done with it.
I hit either FretNation or Amazon. I seem to have terrible luck on FretNation and always want the set that is out of stock. So, Amazon tends to get more orders. As far as buying locally, why would I want to drive 10-20 miles, potentially pay for parking at the better place and then probably not find what I want anyways. Online has exactly what I want and I don't have to settle for second or third choice.
considering guitar center never has anything i want (correction, i did pick up a pop figure of duff mckagan once), i dont expect them to have the strings i want. once again, these shops are the walmart of music stores. they cater to the new and hobby players. the ones that dont know any better than to buy whatever item everyone else is buying. thats it.
buldog5151bass
Kibble, milkbones, and P Basses. And redheads.
Because you are building relationships in case you need personal service (a trip to a local store have me access to a great amp tech, something you won't find via Amazon). Because you are supporting local business, which helps your town/city. Because Amazon treats their employees like garbage (on a good day). Etc. I'm not saying to compromise what you want/need to get, but all things being close to equal, IMO it's better to buy from a brick and mortar.
pre-COVID I used to want to go out to a physical store and find the item that I want. I think it's a holdover from some kind of hunter-gatherer instinct. But during lockdown, I truly made the conversion to ordering from my MacBook or iPhone. It's super convenient and I think I may have been putting 20% of the miles on my vehicle on weekend Guitar Center, Chuck Levins, Atomic Music excursions. As I'm typing, the Ring doorbell notifies me that someone is at the front door. Now I'll play the game of looking at the Amazon padded bag and try not to open it until I can remember what I ordered. I rarely win that game.
EDIT: It was a kale stripper.
EDIT: It was a kale stripper.
Last edited:
guitar center is the mcdonald's of this industy. Fast food for beginners who don't care or don't know what they want just buy something.
Just wait until they direct you to the forlorn figure lurking in the back corner, the one they call "tech," or, if they're particularly cheeky, "luthier." The ham-handed ways of that stooge will have you longing for time spent up front with the sales folk.
In Britain, it's Rotos, Slinkys, Boomers or occasionally, XLs.
If you want DRs, La Bellas etc. then you have to go to a specialist bass store. I can't think of more than 5 in the whole of the UK...
If you want DRs, La Bellas etc. then you have to go to a specialist bass store. I can't think of more than 5 in the whole of the UK...
I haven't purchased bass strings from a brick and mortar store since the late 1990's. I remember ordering new strings on a dial-up modem.
Been that way here for years, including the non-chain stores, for bass strings. Seems okay for guitar and acoustic strings though.
You prefer flatwounds or tapewounds? Forget it as you'll likely have only one or two options, and no options for gauge.
You prefer flatwounds or tapewounds? Forget it as you'll likely have only one or two options, and no options for gauge.
- Sep 9, 2007
- 5,309
- 4,977
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist: Eventide, GHS Strings, G&L Guitars, NS Design, Tsunami Cables
There are so many better online places to spend your money. Knowing what I do in regard to how Amazon treats their vendors (because let's face it, we HAVE to sell on there), I shop there when I absolutely have no other option.
Yeah you don't want "big string" collecting data on your string habits...
See? Here is "big string" gathering data for nefarious purposes...
- Sep 9, 2007
- 5,309
- 4,977
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist: Eventide, GHS Strings, G&L Guitars, NS Design, Tsunami Cables
Yeah, it's tough and I get it, especially in a pandemic.
I'd still rather go to Just Strings, Fret Nation, et al for strings (in the rare case I "do" need something) as I know those people.
Totally understand, I just don't have that connection. When BassStringsOnline closed I guess I dropped the association with strings online == BSO and Amazon crept in.
OP here. I'm amazed by the number of responses to this thread. I didn't expect it. Thanks for the tips, too.
I do feel that my original point is getting lost. I wasn't really looking for an explanation of retail economics, nor for encouragement to buy online.
My point (poorly expressed) was: I see these various strings touted on a daily or hourly basis on TB. Why do I NEVER see them in a big store? I guess the obvious answer is that the number of people who like, say, Ernie Ball Cobalt Flats is in reality much, much smaller than TB leads one to believe. If 100 of us like them, that looks like multitudes.
I know, grumpy old man that I am, that most people buy online now. But to NEVER see these strings in a store?
I do feel that my original point is getting lost. I wasn't really looking for an explanation of retail economics, nor for encouragement to buy online.
My point (poorly expressed) was: I see these various strings touted on a daily or hourly basis on TB. Why do I NEVER see them in a big store? I guess the obvious answer is that the number of people who like, say, Ernie Ball Cobalt Flats is in reality much, much smaller than TB leads one to believe. If 100 of us like them, that looks like multitudes.
I know, grumpy old man that I am, that most people buy online now. But to NEVER see these strings in a store?
I think the reality is that most bass players really don't think about strings very much. Some maybe not at all. For most of my bass-playing life thus far, I was one of those. I started on a 5-string bass, and when I decided I wanted a new set of strings, I went to the local shop and asked for a 5-string set. They usually had only one option (not always the same one option), and I took it.
I literally had played bass for about 14 years before I thought, "You know, I'm really not getting the sound I want, compared to what I hear on albums I like. I wonder if I should try different strings."
I suspect that the subset of bass players who are very interested in string choice is small. And honestly, even if you just care about strings a little bit, you can find a lot of fine options at Guitar Center. My local GC has a pretty wide range if you just want something "different"... a wide range of roundwound strings, a few choices of flatwound strings, and maybe even tapewound strings. If you care about strings enough to even go that far, to try some different rounds, or to try flats, the local Guitar Center may be all you need. Only when you get serious about chasing some specific sound is it really useful to consider the entire spectrum of available strings.
And most of those bassists... are probably here, on the TalkBass Strings forum.
